10 December The personal planets changing signs are felt more easily and more intimately than the outers, mostly because they are so involved in our face-to-face interactions, so when Venus snuggles into the warm, dark box where Cappy likes to keep all its favorite things, we may become aware of the shift in interaction and values: relationships may suddenly become about ‘the rules’ and if someone feels unloved, they may take a hard line in trying to make their point. Venus is likely to sulk at first, and then adapt, so expect, especially if your natal Venus is in a ‘softer’ sign, to feel a little put out by all the emphasis on budgets and boundaries—and then you’ll likely find yourself adopting more austere ways, seeing the beauty in containment and control, and finally (ladies wearing pants so your knickers don’t show, kicking yourself high up but not dangerously so, and only while wearing one of those soft helmets for play) getting into the (literal, with this sign) swing of things. (Perfecting today: Venus enters Capricorn)

The excerpt above is from ECLIPSE, which is my subscription service that features Daily forecasts and a Weekly with articles and more; it will be ending in its present form on 1 July 2015. Anyone interested in a new subscription: sign up now and receive the entire time through the end date for the new subscription price–that’s almost 7 months–I won’t be accepting any new subscribers or re-ups from lapsed subscriptions after 1 January 2015. When ECLIPSE ends, all subscribers current at that point will receive a free copy of ‘We Are All Vessels: Vesta in the Natal Chart’, my almost completed (and long promised!) new book. The book will be for sale through Dog & Sunflower Press after that point. So, the 6th year of ECLIPSE begins and ends in 6 short months–Thank you All for a wonderful run!! And I do believe in reincarnation–I might be back.

Birthdays do seem to be a time when we think about what we want and need. ‘The Birthday Party’ John Singer Sargent 1887 {{PD}}A Re

This is a reprint from 2009; Bon Appétit!

It’s really important to distinguish between what we want and what we need; often, we see them as one and the same or, much worse, confuse the two, or just plain misunderstand, thinking that what we need is only a desire, and denying it to ourselves out of misplaced frugality. We all have both wants and needs, and they’re shown principally by the Moon (needs) and Venus (wants) in the natal chart.

Noting that Venus has been tagged as representing wants, you may protest with, ‘But don’t we all need love?’ And you’d be right, of course we all need love, it’s just that the love we need must be delivered in the form of the Moon–the love we talk about with Venus carries other baggage: lust, jealousy, envy, greed, carnality, and the trappings of romance and courtship–all are forms of ‘Venus love,’ and not truly love at all, but desire. Love that is pure and untouched by these concepts is Amor, while Venus love that is other-directed and objectified is Eros. It remains to the Moon to show us true need, and the form of love that will nurture, comfort, and fulfill emotionally.

Does this mean we shouldn’t call Venus the planet of Love anymore? No, it just means that when we speak of Venus as representing love, we must remain aware that the love Venus represents is that which is typically found in relationship, shown by its rulership of Libra (with the singular exception of the Moon as it carries the maternal love). Venus can also show something about love of the Self (as indicated by Taurus and natural rulership of the 2nd of Self-worth and assets/ talents)–and yet, again, this suggests an outward component to the love, as this focuses on our perceptions of ourselves via the physical, the abilities, and the possessions, including our relationship to the personal finances. Because we live in a material world (sorry, Madonna) there exists a material level at which we will inevitably assess ourselves–and so we take this into account when thinking of Venus, as well.

Neither the Moon nor Venus promises fulfillment of the spirit, though the functions of each can lead to this (the propensity largely indicated in the natal chart by a relationship of either to Neptune, Chiron, the Sun, and sometimes Jupiter). Spiritual love and ideals are the province of Neptune and the Sun (this latter as it represents the Soul itself), but again, these are not separate so much as facets of the concept of love we all carry.

So when we seek love, talk about love, speak of needing to find another to assuage our loneliness, to give our love to, in my estimation we really need to be looking, not at our Venus, but at our Moon, first. This idea was encapsulated in the pop psychology axiom, ‘You can’t love another until you love yourself,’ and indeed, if we have not found the emotional fulfillment demanded by our Moon, we are, in a psychic sense, unable to look away from our own needs, and thus unable to really see and commune with another.

What about desire? After all, we’re in a way programmed to go after what we desire and there’s nothing wrong with that, except that we go after our desires with the expectation that having them fulfilled will fulfill us, when our desires are more about possession than about completion. Our Moon needs, however, are about completion, in the sense that our psyches cannot function as a healthy whole without the sense of having been nurtured, and emotionally ‘filled up’–and we are back to the idea that we cannot give away what we don’t possess–in this case, the sense of completeness, comfort, and nurture that make up the essence of the love we think of sharing with another person.

The conjunction of Venus to Neptune perfects on the 11th in Pisces; this can be an almost magical-feeling combination, with the desire nature and relationship/ financial/ asset emphases of Venus melting temporarily into the inspired Neptune in Pisces, fueling imagination, fantasy, dreams, creativity, delusion, and attention to the spiritual. What we get is an opportunity to imagine our ideal, and to apply that ideal in relationships, in earning situations, to living our values, and to creating. We have enormous potential for getting what we want, or for creating favorable circumstances or positioning in terms of what we want–but we can’t do that by simply imagining it. No matter how powerful our want or dedicated our visualization, we need to take action; this is a physical world where we are hoping to manifest our dream, and the unseen responds much more quickly to our desires when we take a material step to make things happen. It’s like making a statement to the Universe, “I’m willing to use my energy to get what I want”; we move, and so heaven and earth move, too.

In this case, the conjunction of Venus and Neptune occurs semi-square Juno in Aries, which also happens on the same day to conjunct the Sun. We’re being handed the recipe right here: taking initiative, a leadership role, or taking action (Aries, Fire) as we aim directly at what we want–use the status or position you already have (Juno) to make it happen (and we all have influence somewhere–don’t pretend you don’t!) The Sun shines a bright spotlight on what we need to do at a personal level; at this time there’s no excuse for not knowing how to proceed to fulfill that dream.

5 November Venus enters Capricorn. This can be a teeth-grinding, jaw-clenching transit, just because Venus is not super-comfortable following the rules (though she does love to be fair, as long as she gets hers!) being restricted, doing things because they’ve always been done that way, or putting on her frumpiest, as she’s expected to get down on her knees (a Cappy-ruled body bit) and work hard. This transit can be tough if we have a natal Venus that is essentially undisciplined, that just wants what she wants and is used to sating her appetites whenever she pleases. The good thing is, once Venus bothers to climb into those work clothes, she may end up making something astoundingly beautiful, though there might always be a sad element to things (Dostoyevsky has this natally, as do sculptor Camille Claudel and artist Toulouse-Lautrec, a depressive trifecta indeed) and disciplined performance may be in the blood (Beethoven and Maria Callas both have this natally, but so does Miley Cyrus! which only argues for her ‘out-of-control’ presentations really being very very controlled) and tastes can run to the decidedly dour and unappealing (Eva Braun has this placement natally, and we all know who she found attractive).

Venus will slow in Capricorn, and retrograde there on the 20th of December, so our time in the land of the dominatrix and ‘practical’ gifts for the Holidays will last a long time–and it will feel twice that, by the time our Lady of Love leaves the sign in early March 2014. It’s a long slog, and we’d better make friends with Venus as she moves through this sign; find a way to shape the Venusian impulse to the Goat’s exacting requirements and you can have a rollicking time, just as long as it’s cleaned up by 9 and lights out by 10.

Venus will enter Libra at 8:37 AM Pacific time on the 16th. We tend to think of planets moving through a sign they rule as a really good place for them to be; they’re ‘at home’ and can express in their most characteristic fashion. Something we may not consider is that a planet in its own sign may be a little one-sided, showing a little too much of what are normally its positive characteristics, until these things usually seen as a plus become a caricature, or even a bludgeon, when interacting with other impulses. For instance, with Venus in Libra, we reach a height of well-mannered interaction, in terms of the general inclination of Venusian energies; but, in the extreme, these can be a mask for more genuine, conflicted, and powerful feelings. We could find that in wanting to get to the nitty-gritty in relationship we may run into a seamless wall of polite demurs and diplomatic non-answers. Nobody’s feelings were hurt, certainly a Venus in Libra goal, but neither did we see revealed any less-than-pleasant features of the state of our partnership; the encounter was probably lovely, and in the end meaningless, if Venus in Libra had her way and made the perception of perfect harmony more important that its reality.

Venus, like any body symbolic of certain energies, strives in any venue for her own particular brand of fulfillment. If we don’t acknowledge those less-attractive qualities that are just as much a part of her make-up as the more positive ones, we can end up seeing them express just as certainly as those more desirable ones, typically when, during a transit of her own sign, Venus finds expression of Venusian inclinations so so easy. Traveling through Libra, it is just as easy for Venus to display jealousy as it is to show Love, or to show a passive-aggressive bent in relationships as it is to show co-operation. During this transit of Libra, we may want to keep an eye on Venus, as she’ll be stressed by squares to Pallas, Jupiter, and Pluto, quincunxes to Chiron and Sedna, and an opposition to Uranus. All these contacts could bring out the darker side of Venus, oriented toward the kind of pressure she may feel. The opposition to Uranus, for example, may stress relationship dynamics and levels of co-operation, loyalty, and reliability of partners, as the uniqueness urge sings out and insists on rebellion and showing independence, whether that’s really a good idea or not. It’s always best to see the qualities symbolized by a planetary body as dimensional, and so having their own light and dark contrasts–and Venus is no exception.

Venus is leaving Gemini for Cancer, where she can really nurture relationships and projects that will bring in the dough, but where she also may be too emotional and too clingy to successfully interact in a way that respects others’ boundaries or prerogatives. Volatility may also be a problem, as is a too-quickly shifting emotional palette. Venus in Cancer needs something she can pour her nurturing energy into; find that and you’ll have a relatively smooth time elsewhere.

Venus entered Gemini this morning Pacific time at 8:04 AM, and made no, yes I said no, immediate aspects. A planet off on its own like that, freshly into a new way of expressing, will generally take that form and run with it. Relationships, artistic expression, finances, and those subjects of Houses with Gemini on the cusp in the individual natal chart, as well as those in Venus-ruled Houses, and those issues related to bodies posited in Taurus and Libra, are likely engaged in a chatty, effusive, information-filled communing fest; thoughts race, concentration suffers just a little, and ideas are almost literally bouncing off everything and everyone around us. Fun, but tiring, and a bit frustrating for the goal-oriented or those under serious Saturn or Pluto transits–they may resort to desperate, pulling teeth sorts of interaction–and are probably surprised when their ‘victims’ up and run away, first chance!

This lasts through sometime on the 13th, when Venus makes her first aspect, a square to Neptune. At that time we can expect relationships, finances, or values to conflict with the creative urge; we’ll find out what the cost is of implementing our imagination, or our dreams. Will we want to pay it? That’s an individual matter; the only thing we can be sure of is that there will be a price, and that we will need to seriously weigh the potentials of both sides of the equation (think them over, or maybe talk them over, with Venus in Gemini) before we choose.

It may not be as easy, figuratively speaking, to get where we want to go this weekend. ‘Charles the IV enters Saint-Denis’ The Grand Chronicles of France, illustrated by Jean Fouquet c1457 {{PD-Art}}

When I just look at the current transit chart and move it through the weekend, two things stand out: the way the Sun and Mars move closer to opposition with Earth (always opposed the Sun!) and Saturn; and the way it starts today with Jupiter quincunx the North Node (a measured point, not a body, of course) and then by Sunday Pacific time Venus sort of inches into the picture by conjunction with the South Node. These are just impressions, aside from the ideas we get from a complete accounting of current in-orb transits and perfections to aspects that occur this weekend; think of it as an intuitive reading of what might predominate over the next three days, to be added to the aspect and Lunar inventory included in ECLIPSE.

So what do I see? Problems with energy utilization, a stop-and-go of clear, productive, and Soul-expressive urges that is somehow stymied, like traffic flow stopped by an accident that happens round the corner: your car isn’t moving, but you don’t know why–you have fuel, the car runs, but the way is blocked. And with Saturn in Scorpio and the aspect an opposition, we shouldn’t be surprised that the reasons for suppression or repression won’t be clear. I’m not sure there’s any way to combat this, other than to accept that you might not make as much or the kind of progress you would like to. It might be tempting to blame things on the social sphere, our education (or some missing component of it), on religious intolerance, on publishing or broadcasting snafus, on foreign entities, or on travel issues, personal or otherwise (all Jupiter, and to include the matters of the House Jupiter rules in your natal chart). By Sunday, though, we may get a little more perspective, and so be a little less judgy of ourselves and others, as things are presented through the eyes of those we love, through financial matters, through seeing our values in action, and particularly by recalling what was precious to us in the past (Venus-SN). The potential for an internal reconciliation is possible as the weekend goes on and Venus semi-sextiles Jupiter, possibly offering us a way to expand on those things we love or desire, as long as we are willing to modify gently (the quincunx) our thoughts and communications (Jupiter in Gemini) so that they respect both ‘what was’ and our relationships and values (Venus-SN).

Venus, of course, makes her presence felt by House at least twice in the natal chart, once in her rulership of Taurus, and once with Libra. These two signs are naturally quincunx each other, and this describes the way we quite typically see relationship matters (Libra) as incompatible with material ones (Taurus). We tend to believe that the lowest form of relationship in which we can engage is one where we receive a material benefit; we call this person a ‘prostitute’ or label them ‘kept’ and act as if this (a money for action or energy exchange, and we condemn this in spite of the fact that a job has the same general parameters) is in itself a moral failing. Our natural uneasiness in mixing or equating the two must be tempered by an awareness that living in mutually beneficial material situations is really what we must do, not just for survival but in order to build civilization. We tend to see a relationship that involves love as more noble than one that provides something we need–and yet we mix these things, love and material need, all the time, particularly when we are in partnership–and perhaps that is one of the underlying reasons the mate relationship is so fraught with emotional landmines: we hold ourselves and our loved ones to impossibly high standards, demanding ‘pure’ love be given and received, and yet the very fabric of day-to-day requires an interdependence that, if we recognize any facet of it as a cold, material exchange, may de-value our relationship in our own eyes.

Taken from ‘Your Money-tude’ in the current issue of ECLIPSE; to see this article or to get the daily forecast (planetary aspects and those of Sedna, Chiron, Vesta, Ceres, Juno, Pallas, and Zeus, as well as most Lunar aspects, too)delivered to your email every Thursday, subscribe!

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